Nov

5

With the historic presidential election at a close, Make Me Heal wonders what plastic surgery procedure would our newly elected president, Barack Obama, most benefit from? And how could his opponent, John McCain have benefited from going under the knife. Make Me Heal consults a panel of experts.

The first African-American president to be elected president in history, 47-year old Senator Barack Obama, has some outstanding features to go with his winning policies: namely his ears and his nose.

President-elect Obama could benefit from having his ears taken down a notch, so that they would be slightly less protrusive. On his blog, plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn also noted the Senator’s prominent features, saying, “Many blogs and websites are speculating that Senator Obama has had a rhinoplasty, claiming that his nose looks thinner than it used to. I see no evidence of this. Furthermore, if he had plastic surgery on his nose, don’t you think he would have had his ears pinned back too?”

Plastic surgeon Dr. Jennifer Walden agrees, telling Make Me Heal, “Obama is a handsome man, and he has no reason to alter his physical appearance as he has far too much to think about now.

But if asked for one thing that he could do, I would say that otoplasty could be a positive change. This procedure involves pinning the ears back so they are not as prominent appearing, as well as conchal cartilage resection (concha meaning the ‘bowl’ of the ear) to minimize their appearance. Fine suture work can be done to give the upper part of the ear known as the antihelical fold more definition and help the ear look less prominent.

I am quite sure he is comfortable in his own skin, though, and very secure in his outward and inward self…what we are speaking about here is just for entertainment only!”

Plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia has also read the blogs speculating about Obama’s rumored nose job. He tells Make Me Heal, “Technically none of the candidates ‘need’ anything: cosmetic surgery is discretionary. Senator Obama may have already had a rhinoplasty.”

According to Paul S. Nassif, a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon and Rhinoplasty Specialist in Beverly Hills, California, “Basic skin care, like Intense Pulse Light or Fraxel lasers would be great for President-elect Obama’s skin texture and pores. Botox for his glabellar frown lines. He also could have a gentle ethnic rhinoplasty to soften his wide nose.”

Senator Obama’s running mate has also come under the magnifying glass for having plastic surgery in his past. His camp has denied rumors of Botox, but he looks like the recipient of a bad hair transplant sometime in the past. (See Make Me Heal’s story on Joe Biden’s Hair Transplant).

Dr. Nassif not only recommends that the 65-year old Senator correct his hair transplants, but undergo some face work to help him look as youthful as his spirit, “Vice President-elect Biden looks like he had a hair transplant gone bad. He needs that softened. His eyes need to be done also.”

On his blog, Dr. Anthony Youn suspects that the Senator has also had Botox in addition to his hair plugs, saying, “Did you notice the weird way Senator Biden’s eyebrows moved during his debate with Sarah Palin? The inner eyebrows moved very little, whereas the outer part of the brow moved upward, creating a ‘sinister’ look. His central forehead was devoid of wrinkles. This is exactly how a Botox’d forehead looks and acts. There are also reports that he had a hair transplant back in the 1980’s, causing a somewhat unusual hairline at the temple which he has today.”

Dr. Walden also noted the appearance of Senator Biden’s forehead, acknowledging that his people claim Botox rumors to be false. She talks to Make Me Heal about his appearance, “Has Joe Biden had Botox? I realize his camp has denied this, so I will just put it in generalities:

If you inject Botox (and therefore paralyze) the frontalis muscle of the forehead, although it may make it smoother in appearance, the recipient will not be able to make much of an expression or furrow his or her forehead, and may not be able to elevate their brows much if any. Since the frontalis muscle is one of the only and strongest elevators of the brow, when it is knocked out by Botox, the brows descend and actually look low, which can lead to upper lid hooding in people who are in their 50′s and 60′s. This often causes a more aged appearance around the eyes than was intended.

I generally avoid paralyzing the whole frontalis in older patients for just that reason. In patients in their 20′s and 30′s it doesn’t make that big of a difference since they inherently have less or no brow ptosis, so this is the demographic that usually looks best with frontalis (forehead) paralysis.

If I could recommend one thing he could do it would be a brow lift, to bring those brows back up and help alleviate the upper lid hooding. An upper and lower lid blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) could help as well. He is quite a handsome older gentleman so even if he did nothing he has aged gracefully.”

The plastic surgeons also had some advice for the losing candidates, John McCain and Senator Palin.

72-year old Senator John McCain has notoriously survived bouts of melanoma, malignant skin cancer and his face reflects his battle scars, which were common themes for the doctors in recommending treatment and plastic surgery.

Dr. Walden says, “As for John McCain, I would not recommend plastic surgery, just close dermatologic follow up of his skin given his history of melanoma, as well as otolaryngologic (ear, nose and throat) follow up given the history of superficial parotidectomy on the left (underneath the skin of his left cheek). The vertical scar on the cheek isn’t typical for a parotidectomy, this surgery is traditionally done these days through a preauricular incision (right in front of the ear), which is very similar to the inconspicuously placed incision for a facelift. He also has submandibular gland ptosis, accounting for the fullness just under his jaw, and this could be due to poor lymph drainage after the previous surgery in the region. I wish him the very best, he is such a survivor and brave American.”

Dr. Youn also expressed concern over Senator McCain’s skin cancer, saying, “It’s been reported that Senator McCain had a melanoma removed from his temple region, and then underwent extensive facial surgery to remove lymph nodes and other organs. It left him with a large scar and permanent changes on the side of his face. At times in situations like these, so much tissue is removed that the person undergoes a one-sided mini-facelift to put everything back together!”

Dr. Di Saia also felt that Senator McCain’s age and battle could benefit from plastic surgery, although he acknowledged that his already present scars could make it a difficult task, “Sen McCain being older would probably benefit from some facial work. He is harder to figure though as he has had some surgery for melanoma. That work may limit what he might be able to have done afterward due to scarring.”

And Dr. Nassif felt that some tightening would help McCain look and feel better after losing the fight for the presidency, telling Make Me Heal, “For Senator McCain, it is time for upper blepharoplasty and facelift. He needs to recuperate after losing.”

As for McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin (See Make Me Heal’s story on Sarah Palin’s Plastic Surgery), it seems the 44-year’s beauty queen looks weren’t enough to win the vice-presidency.

Although her ethics and personal life are somewhat questionable, Governor Palin’s looks are praised, nearly across the board.

Dr. Walden says, “As for Sarah Palin, I would not recommend much at this point. She is naturally a very pretty lady whom I have heard looks even more attractive in person. She seems to keep it all together quite well, and I am sure the hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities in Alaska help her maintain such a healthy appearance.”

Dr. Youn says, “Overall Governor Palin looks naturally youthful. She does not appear to have had any major plastic surgery, but her skin is pristine, and a probable result of chemical peels and even some laser treatments. Has she also had a little Botox in her forehead?”

Only Dr. Nassif felt that the Governor might benefit from something more drastic than a dermal injectable in the future. He says, “Governor Palin looks good. In another 7 years, it might be time for a facelift.”

Traditionally, the better-looking candidate wins the presidency, but with good-looking candidates on both sides of the fence, it seems voters turned to policy, not prettiness to choose the next candidate.

Read the complete plastic surgery profile of the following public figures on Plasticopedia, the largest online celebrity plastic surgery encyclopedia:

Comments

2 Comments so far

Bree on
December 6, 2008 9:08 pm

Of all the lame thing! He’s the PRESIDENT, not a male model for Pete’s sake! He doesn’t need plastic surgery…you people need a brain transplant, trade in the one you have for one that actually functions NORMALLY!

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